The Stars' Call
by SeekHim
Summary: Dreams can take one further than one can imagine. Part 7 of my AU 'A New Start' verse
1. The first one to see them all

_Disclaimer  
I'm not making a cent from this story.  
Kirk belongs to Star Trek.  
The name U.S.S. Saratoga is from Neferit's story, but everything about the ship's class/design I made up!_

 _Acknowledgment  
Those of you who have read Neferit's works may have come across her 'This is the End' trilogy.  
In it Kirk is raped during shore leave. Instead of supporting him his crew, with the exception of Dr. McCoy,  
assumes that he was just fooling around and basically turn their backs on him. This betrayal, added to  
the already devastating trauma of the rape, leads Kirk to step down as Captain of the Enterprise.  
Several months later he accepts command of a different ship, the USS Saratoga._

 _This series is my take on Kirk accepting his new command. I've written it with Neferit's kind permission._

 _Request  
If you fave or follow please leave feedback! I live for it!  
GOD bless  
John 3:16_

* * *

 _2240_  
 _Nlia_  
 _The Southern Lands: Western Continent_  
 _The Glowing Sands Region_  
 _A few kilometers north from the city of Khasha_

Shylea gazed up at the night sky entranced. "There're so many stars, Grandmother!"

Faroma Cavee smiled down at the five year old. "That there are, my little flower."

The night skies of the Great Deserts were always striking, but city lights could still dim them.  
Cavee had taken her granddaughter for one of their regular long treks and now a few kilometers  
away from Khasha, the sky was stunning.

"How many stars are there?" Shylea asked.

"No one knows. Scientists estimate that there are 100 billion in this galaxy alone."

Shylea's large, sea green eyes grew wider with wonder. She watched the sky in silence for a moment  
before turning back to her grandmother. "Do all the stars have planets with people living on them?"

"Many do."

"Have you ever been to any of them?"

"No, child, I haven't."

Shylea's eyes widened in surprise. Her grandmother was one of the most canny scouts of the Southern  
Lands and had guided caravans to every city in them. She had a hard time believing that she hadn't been  
 _everywhere._

Her gaze went back to the sky "Has anyone ever been to all of them?

Cavee chuckled. "Not likely, little one."

"I want to be the first one to see them all!"

Cavee smiled and affectionately tousled her granddaughter's hair. "You just might, Shylea. You just might.  
I've always been an explorer and wanderer but I've confined my wanderings to the deserts of Nlia.  
I've always loved the stars, but I've enjoyed them from afar. Perhaps it will be different for you."


	2. The Star Ocean

_2240_  
 _Nlia_  
 _The Northern Land_  
 _The Cool Mountains Region_  
 _The Port City of Casil_

Divo Traidwyn carefully piloted the small skiff through the clear waters of Starlit Bay. He handled the instruments  
with the calm confidence of one who had spent a lifetime sailing the seas of Nlia. But he also handled them with  
the caution of one who knew the dangers of the seas and was mindful of the precious cargo he bore.

He smiled as he looked at his five year old grandson. He always enjoyed it when his son and daughters visited  
with their families. This time his firstborn, Catipa, with her three children, had come for a five day visit.  
Although Traidwyn loved all of his grandchildren equally, his youngest grandchild, Tuskaro, had a special place  
in his heart. While the rest of his family was outgoing and gregarious, little Tuskaro was quiet and rather shy.  
Traidwyn by nature was quiet as well and the two had always been close, with words seldom needed between them.

That evening he had decided to take his grandson on one of their many private boat trips and now they were  
about a kilometer out at sea. It was a clear night and the whole sky was awash with stars.

Tuskaro stared up at them entranced. "There're so many stars, Grandfather," he whispered.

Divo nodded. "That there are."

"It's like the sky's an ocean," Tuskaro murmured. "Only instead of it being down there…" he pointed down  
to the water before pointing up at the sky, "…it's all up there."

The two silently watched the sparkling stars for several minutes, all of them so close and yet so far away.  
Tuskaro once again turned to his grandfather. "I wish that I was a star fish, Grandfather," he said softly.  
"Water fish can swim in the water ocean. I wish that I was a star fish and could swim up in the star ocean.  
If I could I would swim out there and touch ever single star."

Traidwyn chuckled. "You're a dreamer, no question. When I was a boy they said that the slightest breeze was  
enough to make my heart set sail. I dreamed of sailing to every port on Nlia, and I did."

He rested a hand on the boy's shoulder, and squeezed it warmly. "Maybe your dreams will carry you even further."


	3. Why Starfleet?

_2256_  
 _Nlia_  
 _The Southern Lands: Western Continent_  
 _The Glowing Sands Region_  
 _The City of Khasha_

"Why Starfleet?" Farseen L'Naym asked quietly.

Today his daughter had told him that she had something important that she wanted to discuss with him.  
He wasn't surprised in the slightest that she and Tuskaro planned to Join as soon as they completed the  
Passage of Adulthood, next year. The two of them had become fast friends from the moment they'd met  
at the age of seven. And the years since then had only served to deepen and enrich their bond. No, the fact  
that they planned to become lifemates was no surprise at all.

The fact that they both planned to leave Nlia and join Starfleet was.

In hindsight it probably shouldn't have been. From the time his daughter had been an infant she had  
loved plants…but she had also loved the night sky. And during trips to the capital she had always loved  
to visit both the observatory, the spaceport and the ancient Space Center, where the first rockets and  
manned vessels had been launched into space four hundred years before.

During his regular visits to the Western Land, Alyen had been the same way. He recalled when both  
children were twelve and he had overheard them talking about the ships and trying to imagine where  
they'd been and what they'd seen.

He leaned forward. "Daughter, you know that I'll always support you but…" He sighed. "Tuskaro is  
training to become a Healer, a vital and honored profession. And Nlia has always greatly valued and  
honored its botanists and agriculturalists; those who hear the Song of the Green, as you like to call it.  
You could both have stimulating careers right here at home. Of if you must go into space you could  
join Nlia's space program. Agriculturalists are always needed on our colonies and outposts."

"I know, Father. But…" Shylea took a breath. "I've always loved growing things, but I've always loved  
the stars as well. I wonder about them, the worlds that they shine on and the people who live on them."

She managed a slight smile. "Not to mention the many different kinds of plants. I love to hear the  
songs that growing things on Nlia sing and I want to hear the songs that growing things on other  
worlds do as well."

She paused and then took her father's hand

 _Two Souls Touched._  
 _A Young Soul and an Older Soul that had helped give her life._

 _*_ _When I was little and Grandmother took me on trips, I would feel as if I could never turn back.  
I thought I could just keep walking, and not stop until I'd seen every part of Nlia. And when I look  
at the stars I feel that I could go out there and not come back until I've seen every one. I hear and  
love the Song of the Green, Father. But I love the Song of the Stars too. I am Child of the Desert  
and a Daughter of Nlia, but I hear the stars' call._

 _*Tuskaro is the same. His is the heart of a healer, but ever since he was a child, he's dreamed of going_  
 _to the stars as well. First he wanted to swim among them and now he longs to travel to them and meet_  
 _the people who dwell on them. He is a Child of the Forest and a Son of Nlia, but he hears the stars' call_  
 _as well.*_

 _The Younger Soul's eyes met the eyes of the Older Soul *This is our dream, Father. And we have to follow it.*_


	4. Follow your dreams

_2257_  
 _Nlia_  
 _The Southern Lands: Western Continent_  
 _The Glowing Sands Region_  
 _The City of Oslamth_  
 _Nlia Spaceport_

"Take care of them, Drusar."

Drusar Modaro, a long time associate of Farseen L'Naym, nodded solemnly. "Don't worry, old friend.  
I'll have these two safely at Starbase in three days."

Modaro was Captain of a small freighter, the _Dasheltor_ (Steady Course) that made regular runs throughout  
the Nlian system and beyond. As a personal favor to his old friend he had agreed to give his daughter  
and her new lifemate passage.

The _Dasheltor_ had a few in-system stops to make and then it would travel to Starbase Alpha, located five  
light years away. From there the young couple would take the Federation transport, _USS Horizon_ ,to Earth.

While Alyen turned to his parents and sisters for last minute embraces and farewells, Farseen drew his only  
child, the last and greatest gift of his beloved lifemate, into his arms for a firm embrace.

 _Two Souls Touched._  
 _A Father and a Daughter._  
 _They embraced, communed, shared, loved._

 _Then..._

 _*Go my beloved daughter. Follow your dreams.*_

Farseen stepped back _. "_ Go, my little Twilight. And don't look back, for we will see each other again."

"When we do it will be a day of joy," Shylea whispered.

Farseen nodded. "And my joy will be great," he whispered.

Shylea walked over to her lifemate and the two of them walked toward the _Dasheltor_ and the waiting stars.  
Neither of them looked back.


	5. A star to steer her by

_1/18/2259_  
 _Lounge_  
 _USS Saratoga_  
 _Hymer Gas Cloud_  
 _Alpha Quadrant_

Captain Kirk sat in the _Saratoga_ Lounge, staring out into the endless expanse of space. He'd quickly claimed  
this room as his favorite spot and would use any excuse to come here. It was a good place to relax, think  
and put things in perspective.

It was definitely a good place to unwind after an exhausting session with Lieutenant Akari. Since accepting  
Kirk as a student in the ways of the _katana_ , his Helmsman had quickly shown that he was a _very_ demanding  
teacher. Thankfully he also had a seemingly limitless supply of patience.

"Captain?"

Kirk looked up from his musings to see Alyen standing in the doorway. He gave him a friendly smile  
and beckoned him. "Alyen. Come on over and take a load off. I haven't seen you since we got back  
from our little excursion."

A little over two weeks ago the _Saratoga_ had arrived at the Hymer Gas Cloud, a stunning red-violet nebula,  
to conduct an in-depth survey. They had sent out regular shuttle expeditions, most of them led by Kirk  
and on one of them he had decided to take Alyen along.

During that excursion they had come across the nebula's greatest secret-it was inhabited by a tiny spaceborne,  
cosmozoan species, that they had dubbed the Hymer Fireflies. What had originally been intended as a week-long  
survey of the Cloud had been rapidly extended into a two week study of the lifeforms.

"Captain," Alyen continued, "the reason that I wanted to see you was..." He paused, "I wanted to thank you  
for taking me on that away mission. I missed Shylea, of course, but it was..." His eyes were wide with  
remembered wonder. "... _incredible_ being out there."

Kirk smiled and nodded. "You're welcome." From the moment he had first met the two Nlians he had felt  
a connection to both of them

The two of them sat together for awhile in companionable silence, simply gazing at the stellar view.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Kirk said quietly.

"I've always loved the stars," Alyen continued. "When I was a child I would think of space as an ocean and  
would imagine swimming among them."

Kirk smiled "And now you're on a ship sailing among them. Just like me." He was silent for several more  
moments before he said softly. "All I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by."

Alyen was silent for a moment as he gazed out the window. "As long as my beloved is beside me, there's no  
other place I'd rather be."

END


End file.
